Hello friends! I had a glorious August off and experienced deep rest. There were a few days when my husband took the dog on a camping trip, my daughter was away with friends, and I was home alone with zero obligations. I would have given anything for that kind of spaciousness a decade ago and couldn’t have imagined it was possible. I even got a bit lonely and tried to savor that, too. It’s a reminder that things change—if things are hard, the hard times will pass. If things are easy, the easy times will pass. The invitation, as always, is to be with what is.   

A few other moments that will stick with me from this year’s idyll: 

  • Reading novels on the dock at Ross Lake 
  • Hiking on Stuart Island above the Salish Sea 
  • Visit to the Burke Natural History Museum and crying at the miracle of life 
  • Solo swim at Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver 
  • Time with three of my goddaughters 
  • Going to the Subdued Stringband Jamboree with Laura 
  • Sitting with my daughter on Lummi Island’s Sunset Beach  
  • Carbohydrate tour with Jordan at Sea Wolf Bakers 
  • Late-night singalong with my husband on our way home from a concert 

Feeling so grateful for the beauty of the Pacific Northwest and all the world offers to us every moment if we open ourselves to it. 

Coming back, I feel even more clarity about what I say “yes” and “no” to. I experience immense freedom to curate my life and commitments. I care about so many things and people, but I can’t act on everything I care about. I think this is part of the problem with the internet and social media age. We are tempted to care about too many things, and mistake posting and commenting for doing something meaningful.  

News flash—we are humans with limited capacity! A mark of wisdom is being okay with roads not travelled, opportunities passed by, and opinions not expressed. There’s a principle in fluid dynamics called “continuity equation,” which says that when a body of water narrows, the water flows faster. We flow faster when we embrace restriction.  

One of the best ways to curate your life is to ask for help in doing it and to be part of communities that support you in this. It’s impossible to do alone, and something I regularly help clients with. I have three friends/colleagues with wonderful offerings at the moment that I wanted to pass on: 

  • An Autumn Equinox Labyrinth Walk at Fairhaven Park in Bellingham, facilitated by the amazing Sharry Nyberg (9/22, 1:00-2:00 pm), a 3-hour in-person Fall retreat in Bham (email Sharry for info) and an online retreat she is offering in October 
  • Coaching offerings from my very wise colleague Heather Johnson, especially if your own health is something that is suffering. It’s hard to live out our callings in the world without a healthy body as a foundation. 

As Autumn begins, may you experience the awe and wonder of your wonderfully limited human self.